Sounds Around Town: Jonny Lang gets back to the blues at the Wilbur in Boston

Thursday

Sep 28, 2017 at 11:18 AM

By Ed Symkus, Correspondent

Guitarist and blues belter Jonny Lang did not start out as a guitarist and blues belter. Before he even touched a guitar (he got his first one at 13), he played saxophone. Before he heard the blues for the first time (his dad brought him to see the Bad Medicine Blues Band when he was 12), he’d been growing up on a musical diet of his parents’ record collection: Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, Otis Redding, various Motown artists.

But Lang, now 36, set to front his band in celebration of their new album “Signs” at the Wilbur in Boston on October 3, knew he wanted to be a blues player/singer pretty much from the moment he was introduced to the genre.

“I don’t remember what songs the Bad Medicine Blues Band was playing,” said Lang, by phone from a tour stop in Milwaukee. “But it was probably blues covers and a few originals. I just remember the sound of the guitar freakin’ me out, in a good way, and wanting to be able to do that.”

When he got that first guitar – a Fender Stratocaster – as a gift for his 13th birthday, he took to it quickly. He got so good at it, he ended up playing and singing in that band his dad took him to see. In short order, he was signed, as a solo artist, to A&M Records, and a career was born.

“I was singing before I was playing guitar,” said Lang. “My mom sang, and it was kind of what I wanted to do, too. By the time I joined the band, I was already writing songs, and trying to get better at it. I wanted to learn how to say the stuff that I wanted to say, and try to find my own style.”

Although his early albums focused on the blues, over the years, Lang’s output has featured all sorts of music, dipping into areas of rock, pop, funk, and gospel. But “Signs” signals a sort of return to his roots. It still has a range of styles, but this time there’s more of a blues presence.

“I’d been listening to some old Howlin’ Wolf records,” he said, “and that was one of the things that inspired me, at least production-wise, to get back to that sound. But songwriting-wise, it just kind of came together without too much thought to it. There wasn’t any ‘Well, let’s write THIS style of record’ moment. It just sort of happened. I wanted to have more kind of guitar riff-based stuff, since blues guitar players make up most of my influences on guitar, so it just came out that way.”

When Lang writes new songs, he usually presents them to his bandmates in the recording studio.

“When I feel that a song is ready, I’ll play it for them on acoustic guitar, and sing it,” he explained. “I try to say as little as possible about my vision for the song, unless it’s something really particular I’m going for. Everybody interprets it the way they see it. We know each other really well, musically, so most of the songs take shape by themselves.

When Lang returns to the Wilbur, he’ll be bringing longtime mates Zane Carney on guitar, Jim Anton on bass, and Barry Alexander on drums, and the band’s newest addition, Tyrus Sass on keyboards.

“We’re pretty focused on playing tunes from the new album,” he said. “But we always try to cover some old things. We’re still doing a cover of (Tinsley Ellis’) ‘A Quitter Never Wins’ and we usually work out a Stevie Wonder tune.”

Lang is on the road a lot. When he’s home with his family, he’s constantly writing new songs or revisiting and touching up old ones. But every once in a while, when time allows, he takes a step in a different direction.

“I love golf!” he practically screamed. “And I play whenever I have a chance. It’s kind of the only thing I do to clear my head and get away from music for a while.”

Jonny Lang celebrates his new album “Signs” at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston on Oct. 3 at 8 p.m. Tickets: $40-$65. Info: 617-248-9700.

Upcoming Concerts and Club Dates:

Sept. 30:

The annual free Berklee Beantown Jazz Festival kicks off at noon and runs till 6 at locations all over Columbus Ave., between Mass. Ave. and Burke St. in Boston. For a complete schedule, visit www.berklee.edu/beantownjazz.

Oct. 1:

The brother pop trio Hanson celebrates 25 years together at House of Blues in Boston (7 p.m.)

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